Preview: Fenerbahce vs Eyupspor - prediction, team news, lineups

Fenerbahce welcome Eyupspor to Sukru Saracoglu Stadium on Sunday afternoon in round six of the Turkish Super Lig, with the Yellow Canaries looking to end a run of three matches without victory across all competitions.

The hosts have taken seven points from their opening five league matches, while the visitors have collected just three and are already sitting in the relegation zone after four defeats.

Match preview

Fenerbahce's start has been complicated by their European commitments and an extraordinary managerial episode involving Ismail Kartal.

The 65-year-old announced his resignation following Fenerbahce's 1-1 Champions League draw with Roma after a water bottle was thrown at him from the stands, only for club president Aziz Yildirim to insist that Kartal would remain in charge.

The drama came just days before Fenerbahce were held to a goalless draw by Gaziantep, meaning the Yellow Canaries have failed to win either of their last two league matches, having lost 2-1 at home to Besiktas, their only league defeat so far.

Already six points off the pace, Fenerbahce will need to quickly return to winning ways to keep their hopes of ending a lengthy league-title drought alive, and both their record in this fixture and the visitors' poor start should give them confidence ahead of Sunday's game.

Eyupspor have struggled badly for goals, scoring only twice in five league matches, with no team scoring fewer, while they have lost four of those games. Their sole victory came against Alanyaspor at the end of August.

Their latest defeat was a 2-0 home loss to Rizespor, with Ali Sowe opening the scoring in the first half before Emrecan Bulut added a second in stoppage time.

Eyupspor also failed to score against Besiktas, Gaziantep and Corum earlier in the campaign, highlighting the scale of the attacking problem facing Ozhan Pulat.

There is, however, one reason for the visitors to have some hope heading into this clash, as they earned a point in the corresponding fixture last season, leading 2-0 before Fenerbahce eventually rescued a 3-3 draw in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce Turkish Super Lig form:

Fenerbahce form (all competitions):

Eyupspor Turkish Super Lig form:

Team News

Marco Asensio is expected to return to the matchday squad, although he may not be risked for the full 90 minutes after only recently returning to team training from a muscle issue.

However, Jayden Oosterwolde remains out with an Achilles injury, while Mert Hakan Yandas is suspended and Amara Diouf is also unavailable.

Eyupspor are without Abdelhamid Sabiri and Taskin Ilter due to muscle injuries, leaving Pulat with limited options in midfield and attack.

Ahmed Abdullahi is expected to lead the line here, while Massanga Matondo should operate in the middle of the pitch.

Fenerbahce possible starting lineup:

Ederson; Muldur, Skriniar, Ake, Brown; Guendouzi, Kante; Greenwood, Yuksek, Akturkoglu; Muriqi

Eyupspor possible starting lineup:

Moldovan; Ulvan, El Yamiq, Jules, Giordano; Matondo; Boutobba, Costa, Raux-Yao, Michalak; Abdullahi

We say: Fenerbahce 2-0 Eyupspor

Fenerbahce's recent results have been underwhelming by their standards, but the visitors' attacking struggles make them difficult to back for goals here.

The visitors did produce a memorable comeback in this fixture last season, but the Yellow Canaries should have enough control and attacking quality to avoid another scare and collect three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.